So it begins......

It was a typically miserable, overcast, drizzly summer day as I headed to Heathrow in typically miserable M25 traffic to deliver my bike to the cargo company.

The bike at James Cargo waiting to be put in a crate.

This was a couple of weeks before I was due to fly myself. BUT, the day before my bike was due to be delivered to the airline, I got a message from James Cargo telling me the battery was dead and wouldn't hold a charge. Bugger!! Too late to do anything about it before the bike departed. So, a fraught day or so researching options for a new battery. Contacting various potential leads in Bishkek lead to frustrating dead ends. I contacted the airline I am flying with (Air Astana) to see if I could carry a new battery as check in baggage. To my surprise, they said "yes", providing it wasn't a lithium-ion battery. 

Then the trip to Heathrow to catch my flight. More stress as the Piccadilly Line ground to a halt as soon as I boarded the tube. Bugger. I bailed on London transport and sought an Uber (£62!!) from Piccadilly. Then I approached check in with my newly bought battery: much consternation ensued as phone calls were made and rule books checked and double checked. Finally, I got the OK and the battery disappeared down the check in conveyor...... hopefully to reappear in Bishkek, insha'Allah!

No, No, No! Before I even boarded the plane, the check in staff chased after me to be told the battery had been off-loaded as a "dangerous" item (despite them being routinely transported as "cargo"). So a fraught day or so chasing up leads in Bishkek (and beyond) for a suitable replacement. Needle in a haystack, hen's teeth, honest politicians time. Eventually, I was put on to a guy working out of a dusty backstreet shop who had batteries that were "nearly" a match. Hobson's choice, but a choice nonetheless. So, a quick check on the internet motorbike forums (how did we survive pre-internet??) to see what would be the best of the available options and a new battery was purchased (double the UK price!! Ouch!). During the process, I purchased some temporary motorbike insurance for £4.50, swings and roundabouts innit??

Magazin Moto: a proper "big bike" supplier and good guy.

Hobson's choice 

One interesting thing (to me at least) about Bishkek is the absence of dogs. While I like our four legged friends, they are not so partial to me. It is a refreshing change to amble back from a late night drink and not have to worry about aggressive canines wanting to take lumps out of me.

Bishkek itself is a good place. I was here 11 years ago with only fragmentary memories. Now, lots of people whizzing about on E-Scooters and deliveroo type delivery drones. Very modern. Quite a strong Russian presence; but I don't know if it is any more than during more sane times. Also, there is a surprising lack of a Chinese presence; I have yet to see any signage in Chinese or any Chinese speakers. 

Feels very safe as a city (my biggest adversaries has always been the feral dogs!). Beer is freely available, cheap and very good. Also very hot at the moment, low 30s every day.

Bikes outside of the hotel, but no sign of their owners.

Hopefully heading to the mountains soon.

Ramis, the man with the battery.

"The Lucky Leprechaun" country of inspiration remains a mystery!

Soundtrack: "Psywar" - Mayhem

The mighty T700

Spoiler alert: this post will be of zero interest to those who don't ride a motorcycle; also probably of little interest to those that do. You have been warned.......!

The Yamaha T700, my bike of choice for this trip. The mods I have made are an attempt to turn it into a more "overland" orientated bike. They are:

Yamaha Tenere 700 (2020) Weight: 204 kg.

1. Acerbis 22/23 litre tank. Weight: 3.2kgs (minus weight of stock tank 4.6kgs....needs verifying!) Net weight loss (of EMPTY tank)= -1.4kgs (approx).

Combined with the camel tank; this should give an approx 27 litre capacity, with a theoretical range of 450 to 480 miles (450 miles being realistic??). The weight of the Acerbis is actually less than the stock (although when full with the extra 6 or 7 litres, it will add approx. 20 kgs worth of fuel (27.5 litres) as opposed to the 16 litres of the stock tank which would weigh approx. 12 kgs. So an extra 8 kgs when fully fuelled (less the weight saving of the tank itself).

2. Camel Tank (5 litre)  Fitted before the Acerbis tank. Works very well, although the OEM fuel filler cap didn't provide the best airtight seal to form the necessary vacuum. The filler cap on the Acerbis solved that issue.

Weight (dry): 3.4 kg.

5 litres petrol = 3.69 kg (approx. / maybe??)

3. Tubeless Wheelset (Bartfactory)  A showstopping puncture on a ride out convinced me of the benefits of tubeless over tubed tyres. Fitted with Moto-Master "Flame" brake discs; another weight saving effort.

Weight (complete built wheels/tyres etc.) is apparently heavier than stock. I'm putting this down to the new tyres having more rubber on them than the old, worn ones I weighed. Anyway, it is unsprung weight🤔. 

Tyres fitted are currently Motoz Tractionator GPS  (tubeless).

4.  Adventure-Spec Aluminium crashbars. Weight: 2.8 kg.

5. Adventure-Spec Bashplate. I have Ad-Spec on my old XT and was very happy with it, so opted for same again for the T7.

Weight: 2.2 kg. (Minus weight of OEM: 0.75 kg.) Net weight gain: 1.45 kg

6. Hepco & Becker Centre Stand. After a real struggle to re-mount the rear wheel after a puncture; I opted for a centre-stand. Heavy, but at least the weight is carried low.

Weight (including fixings): 4 kg.

On balance, the advantages and convenience of a centre stand outweigh the extra weight. Hepco & Becker seems to be the lightest option at around 4kgs (including fixings). 

7. Barkbusters hand/lever guards. Weight 1.234 kg. (Minus weight of OEM: 0.825 kg)

Net weight gain: 0.4 kg

8. Adventure Spec Soft Luggage Racks.  Weight 1.7 kg.

9. OEM Chain guide

10. Exan TITANIUM slip on exhaust. A search on the internet suggested that, while looking good and saving more weight, Carbon exhausts are less durable and less crash/drop resistant than Titanium.  As the aim is to make an overlander; a robust exhaust was important, not something that looks good but becomes unusable after some abuse. 

Weight 2.22 kgs including link pipe and all fixings.(minus weight of OEM exhaust 4.9 kgs. APPROX.)

Net weight LOSS -2.68 kgs. APPROX.

11. SW Motech crash bar bags. Having failed to find a satisfactory solution to fitting a tool tube, I opted instead for soft bags on the crash bars to carry tools, waterproofs, disc lock and other small miscellaneous items. 

Other modifications:

TUTORO chainoiler.

LED indicators (front). After a collision with a pheasant (?) which obliterated my front left indicator; I decided that as I had to replace them anyway, I may as well get LEDs. The price doesn't seem too dissimilar to stock. Weight difference, I guess, is negligible. 

Vibrating head stock fix. From tenere700.net (a great resource).

MPG (possible): I seem to be getting up to about 17.5 miles/litre (27×17.5 = 472.5 miles). Up to 80 MPG unladen (how much that drops when fully loaded remains to be seen).

While I have tried to keep the additions to the bike as low weight as possible; combined, they are beginning to make the kgs pile up. So, soft luggage and pack light (and lay off the pies)!!

KIT CARRIED

Rally Raid T7 Spanner. Combined front/rear wheel removal tool.

Soundtrack: "Silver Machine" - Hawkwind

So, 11 years later......

2012, the year of my attempted London to KL via Tibet bike trip. Now, 11 (yes, count 'em, 11) years later, I am having another crack at it. BUT, the route into western Tibet from Xinjiang is currently closed to travellers (an ongoing border dispute between India and China??). Also Golmud, the gateway to the alternate north to south route to get to Lhasa is also currently closed to foreigners. So a China transit, minus Tibet, but a China transit none the less: from Kyrgyzstan to Laos. The map is the planned route through China. This section has taken up so much time and energy that the bits before and after China have been somewhat neglected. I'll have to make it up as I go along 

This time I am freighting my bike direct to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The original plan was to freight  to Almaty, Kazakhstan, but that proved to be an unfeasibly complicated process; of the few customs agents that responded to my enquiries in Almaty, "no, impossible" was the gist of the replies. The reasons for freighting this time are mainly time saved. It does feel like cheating a bit, but I don't really fancy Russia at the moment........🤔

So, starting in Kyrgyzstan, into China (at the Irkeshtam border crossing) and on to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand (and maybe Malaysia??). Had hoped to get my bike into Vietnam, but that has proved to be more trouble than it's worth (I'll do the Top Gear, Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi on a local rental another time).

I took on the laborious and frustrating task of finding fellow riders to join for the China section myself. Months (years......?!) of researching and negotiating with Chinese tour agencies ended with signing up with Jah from RideChina, based on his excellent reputation, track record and competitive price. I eventually found 5 riders (+myself) to join, fewer than the 8 required to trigger the attractive quote I was offered and no 4 wheeler to carry the guide. However, Jah had another, smaller group due to do a similar trip a couple of weeks or so later, so a merger was proposed to keep the good price. Upshot is, the entry date is little later than originally planned, BUT the trip gets to go ahead for the same duration and same cost. 

Another big change is the bike. The mighty XT has been retired from its overlanding duties and its younger sibling, the mighty T700 has taken up the role. Awesome as the XT is, I never noticed the vibey nature of the engine before getting the twin T7. My eyeballs no longer vibrate out of my head at higher speeds. At this point, my XT has more sentimental than monetary value, so holding on to it. Tedious bike prep. posts to follow......

Soundtrack: "Invincible" - Tool